


Another Way to die

by Subject879



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/M, Horror, Science Fiction, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-29 06:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7673626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subject879/pseuds/Subject879
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chapter 1 of a new ongoing im attempting to turn into a real story! After a nano virus gets out and begins turning people into flesh eating monsters it's up to Jason and his sort of ex wife to survive the terrors of this harsh new world, but when every thing out there is just another way to die is there any possible way they can make it out alive? Please read and review! Possible character death at some point so tagged just in case!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A scraping sound could be heard on the outside of the small building; it wasn't anything special before everything had turned to shit, but now? After it happened the building in question had become a safe haven for a small group of survivors, though they too were over whelmed by infighting and infection.. At least that's what it looked like to the man now scavenging it's remains. "Useless...useless.." he murmured as he stepped over numerous dead bodies.

The man's name was Jason, and before the apocalypse he hadn't been much more than mechanic, though he'd had a loving wife and a brother whom he had practically raised while out on the streets. "I need antibiotics.." he murmured to himself, after being alone for so long one came to making conversation with yourself...but he wasn't really alone anymore. A nice little surprise had awaited him once he'd finally broken into this place (A small storage house that Jason had stumbled across a few days ago); his ex wife Kate who had apparently survived, a fact Jason wasn't sure if he liked or not yet. 

The former mechanic was currently scrounging through a back supply room in the hopes of finding something for Kate. She had triggered a trap that must have been rigged by the previous inhabitants, it had missed anything vital but the crossbow they'd set up (Which seemed like an ineffective trap against the infected) had hit her in the leg and was currently stuck there, while he wasn't a doctor it seemed logical to search for bandages and something to sterilize the wound..so far he had found bandages. 

The problem was a lack of electricity and the fact that it was getting dark out, the sun was slowly beginning to set and it was getting harder and harder to see. Kate claimed to have swept the building before running into him but it was easy to miss one of the slower infected that hadn't eaten in a few days...god only know how many times he'd done it. This new world was a harsh one, and while Jason had tried his best to stay the same as he was he had become colder, harsher...while he had yet to take a life there had been multiple instances where he could have saved someone but didn't. Jason had told himself multiple times that it wasn't him, that this world had turned him into this..thing that he didn't recognize, was he capable of killing a non infected? 

He liked to tell himself no, but something never seemed quite convincing enough about it. "Jason? You find that medicine?" Her voice echoed through the hall and it made the former mechanic wonder, for the five hundredth time, how she had survived. Her voice could attract more infected or worse; scavengers. Jason had seen plenty of people who had once been hard working, good people turn to monsters now that society had collapsed; the ones who hadn' now had bodies littering the ground, their organs scattered around what was left of their bodies....it wasn't a pretty sight. 

Finally he found the medication just in time to feel a sharp blow to the head and his world began fading to black just in time to see a grungy looking woman with a sadistic smile on her face "You went and woke me up just in time for supper.." she said, it was the last words Jason would hear before unconsciousness consumed him.

\--------------------------

Before the infection, before Jason had even met Kate, he'd been working as a mechanic at a garage just outside Pittsburgh. He and his brother had grown up together on the streets after their parents had died. For years it had just been the two boys fighting to survive, Jason had learned how to steal at an early age while Micheal had hit the books (an activity his older brother encouraged greatly). Living on the street as a child wasn't easy, but it taught Jason valuable survival skills; once Jason turned sixteen he got a job at a local diner which gave them barely enough income for a small apartment that smelled like cat urine. 

After Micheal got a job at a local fast place Jason decided it was time to go for his GED and work towards a half way decent career to support himself and his brother. He'd always been good with his hands so it seemed lke going into a career that required he used his hands; he decided on mechanic since he'd always loved watching the cars on the streets go by, and listening to older men talk about what made their car tick and was better than the others. 

It was shortly after getting his certification and getting his first job as a mechanic he met her; Kate Carter. Kate was the daughter of the CEO of Carter industries, one of the world's leaders of biotechnology and weapons, there had been rumors they were working with nanobot technology that would repair damaged tissue and in theory give veterans who were injured a chance at a normal life. 

"My car it uh...broke down a few miles from here and the tow truck company that came recommended this garage, are you too busy?" Kate asked curiously, her phone in one hand and her purse slung over the other arm, her blonde hair went down past her shoulders. She was dressed in a black leather jacket that was unbuttoned to reveal a white t-shirt and she had a pair of blue jeans on along with some fancy looking shoes that Jason wasn't overly familiar with, but they looked uncomfortable.

"Um, I was about to clock out but I can take a look real quick, I need the overtime." It didn't hurt that she was easily the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, not that Jason's love life was anything impressive, he'd never had a serious relationship since most of his effort had been on keeping his brother and he alive on the streets. "Let's see what the damage is, can you pop the hood and I'll grab a few tools?" He questioned.

"Oh, yeah of course- I'll go do that...I'm Kate." The woman finally introduced herself, "Thank you so much for doing this, it means a lot to me; I have no idea what I would have done if you had turned me away." She confessed, her Father had always told his children they needed to solve ther own problems, that he wouldn't be around forever and they needed to learn how to take care of themselves. "Money isn't really an issue, um...sorry I didn't really mean to say it like that."

Jason raised a hand and shook his head "Don't worry, it's fine." He paused to grab his small toolbox and motioned for her to lead the way "Like I said, I could use the overtime."

\---------------------------

The world slowly started to come back to Jason and he was aware of two things; his head was throbbing, and he had no idea where he was...was Kate okay? "W-who are you?" It wasn't the best question to start with but he needed to get his bearings straight so he could come up with a plan of escape, "Where am I?" Were his hands bound? It felt like they might be...which could be a problem since he would need his hands if any sort of escape attempt would be successful, Kate wouldn't be able to rescue him with that leg in the shape it had been...which begged to question.

"That was your trap in there, wasn't it? How long have you been down here?" 

His questions were answered by silence, what was she doing? Finally he heard a whimper, was that another survivor? If there were others down here he needed to rescue them too...although was it really worth the risk to himself, after all he was only in this mess because he had taken the time to help Kate. Why had he done that? It wasn't like she had stuck her neck out for him when he'd needed it 

Finally the whimpering stopped, was the other person dead? Jason had no time to think about it before the grungy looking woman he'd seen before falling into unconsciousness stepped into view. She looked to be in her thirties, at best she was forty. "You're awake, good." Her voice was raspy, as if she hadn't talked to anyone in a long time. "Don't need to be worry about it, I found your little lady friend too."

That means Kate is alive, or was "What did you do to her?" He demanded, the idea of something happening to her made Jason's blood boil despite his earlier debate about whether or not he should actually be helping her. "If you hurt her I'll.." He paused as she pressed a piece of sharp metal to his throat, he could feel the pointed edge digging into his flesh and the red hot trickle of blood going down towards his chest.

"Do what? You're just another meal boy." She hissed; her teeth, what was left of them, were rotten and he could see some...was that raw flesh? The idea made his skin crawl; he'd run into other survivors who had told him stories of some humans who had resorted to cannibalism; Jason had never believed the stories but seeing was believing right? "I think I might cook the meat this time." she said, sliding the metal across his neck and then down to his chest; just above his heart. "You look like you could feed me for a good month...maybe more." She said, "And you look delicious."

Jason's heart was racing as the metal dug into his flesh, "Your little lady friend is a miracle, you know that? She was terrified as I explained exaclty what I was going to do, I even took myself a little taste; the hole in her leg will heal; though it won't really matter when I'm done with her. The arrow in her leg was a nice stick for the meat." The words made Jason sick, and he was more determined than ever to escape this place, he refused to die here...not after everything he'd been through. 

But how the hell was he going to get out of this one?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a nano virus gets out and begins turning people into flesh eating monsters it's up to Jason and his sort of ex wife to survive the terrors of this harsh new world, but when every thing out there is just another way to die is there any possible way they can make it out alive? Please read and review! Possible character death at some point so tagged just in case!

Jason could feel his heart pounding, how could he have been so naive? He had heard the stories, that the infected weren't the only problem but the truth was that he hadn't wanted to believe, part of him had still believed that the human race wouldnt turn on itself even with the collapse of modern society. While this was still an isolated incident it just made him think he was better off on his own. When he'd been by himself he'd never run into cannibals...or anyone but infected trying to kill him, but what about Kate? 

Kate was still alive right? His head had been fuzzy during the woman's speech but he was pretty sure that she'd hinted his ex wife was still alive...for now, but for how long? Jason didn't really want to think about it but neither of them had that luxuary right now. The bonds on him were tough, but Kate was relying on him...wasn't she? If he were being honest he needed the woman he had once been completely in love with to need him right now, while he was perfectly okay looking out for his own skin Jason had always been better looking out for others, and this was no exception. 

Please let her be alive...

\-------------------------  
The throbbing in her leg was the first thing Kate was aware of, the second was that the room she was in happened to be extremely dark. The only fire source she could see was a small fire on the other side of the room that somehow managed to make the room extremely hot, how could that be with such a tiny fire. 'Stop it Kate, you're focusing on things that dont really matter' came the voice of her Father, even after all this time he was still lecturing her, and from beyond grave too.

She didn't know whether to be impressed or disgusted. 

The next thing she noticed was that the surface currently supporting her was very...very uncomfortabe, and she couldn't move. Despite telling herself not to panic the former heiress could feel it creeping into her veins like ice water, her breathing became labored for a second until she heard voices, was that Jason?!

It had been a shock to see him again after all this time, they were both very different people now...or she liked to believe, but looking into how cold and hard his eyes were made her feel like maybe she hadn't really changed at all...had she? One major difference was she no longer thought with her credit card, before the apoclypse she had been level headed and the natural choice to inheirit the family company, even after marrying Jason (Which reporters and family friends had ended up having a field day with).

Jason's eyes had been so warm and caring once, he'd been through hell but had never let it change him or his view on life, part of her wondered if their divorce had been partof the changing factor; not only had his brother died but a few days later his wife had left him...it was enough to turn anyone cold. Especially when you factored in this new living hell they were all forced to live in because her Father...she really wished he was still alive so she could kill him again, and because she missed him; it was complicated. 

The sound of footsteps' snapped Kate out of her thoughts and she looked up just in time to see her captor enter the room "Sorry for the wait my dear, I was having a nice little chat with your boyfriend, dear fellow isn't he? Tries to be brave but I see it in his eyes, he's afraid you know? Afraid of losing you...maybe losing yourself, it's easy to do you know? Lose yourself.." The woman's eyes wandered over to the other corner of the room and Kate was half tempted to take a look and see what it was the half crazed woman was looking at but found her eyes refused to look anywhere but at the woman she had a bad feeling was going to kill her.

"Look, i know that this world can be harsh, but is this really the way you want to spend your time? A bitter old woman who well...terrifies people and...kills them. The last part was a bluff but a rather clear one, after all what else could someone want with people trapped in what appeared to be a basement...or something, Kate didnt really have much of a plan here. Judging from the pain in her leg she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so really the only plan available to her was distract this woman until Jason got free...if he could even get free.

She really didn't want to die down here.

\-------------  
Jason was beginning to think that it was helpless,these restraints were never going to come off and he was going to die down here. The knots in the ropes seemed to just get tighter the more he struggled and his patience was wearing thin; what he really needed was something like a knife or an arrow head, something sharp enough to cut the rope off his arms and then he could get Kate and get out of here/

"Mister, are you okay?" Came a soft voice from the shadows, which wasnt hard considering the light was basically gone in this part even though there were flickers of a fire in the next room, was Kate in there? If she was he hadn't heard anything, but he'd also been far too focused on the task at hand; which was getting the hell out of here. "Mister, are you okay?" Repeated the voice again before Jason finally realized what was going on, someone else was here...and talking to him!

"Just peachy.' Jason grunted with a snort "My ex is about to be eaten and this stupid rope wont budge....I'm trapped." Before he could say anything else the child showed a small pocket knife in his hand "I won't let Mommy hurt anyone else." The young boy told him before he began to cut the ropes "Mommy enjoys hurting people.

\----------  
"I was a good person once, you know, I had a husband and was expecting a child until all this shit happened, we all holed up in here because it was well supplied and the doors could be fortiied easily, you know what happens when you have a group together in a relatively small place like this ? They get .rabid, it's kind of terrifying, but they deemed my pregnancy as one person too many and came after me, they got my husband and I fled down here, I'd discovered it while trying to get away from my husband, we'd had a fight and..it was the last fight we ever had, I think about it a lot."

"Well I mean who wouldn't; that's completely natural a reaction-" Whatever she was about to say was cut off by the sound of metal grinding against metal, but before Kate could figure out what was going on something flew over her head and her would be killer slumped over, dead; a now visible arrow sticking out of her eye...the shot was definitely impressive.

Then he was standing over her, and the straps that were keeping her held down were loosened, and then finallyshe could move, with one exception "I can't...I dont think i can walk...my leg." The pain building up in her leg was almost overwhelming, she wanted to scream but god only knows what that could attact "We need to get to my camp, they have a doctor there, a former soldier he can..."

Jason cut her off with a glare "I told you I don't want to join a camp, I have no interest in even traveling with other people, getting attached is.." He went quiet for a moment when the little boy who had rescued him walked in and froze at the sight of them. Jason hadn't even thought about the little boy,, it must be their attackers son...and now the little boy had no mother. The idea made Jason a little sick, he'd made this boy an orphan.

"You killed my mommy." He said as he moved over to where his mothers corpse lay "Mommy was bad...very bad, she killed people, told me it was payback for what they did to Daddy, and my little brother..they were bad people too, weren't they?" He sounded so unsure of himself that Jason was half tempted to hug the boy and tell him it would all be okay, however Kate managed to beat him to it. 

"Your Mother was put in a very bad situation and she made the best of it, she loved you very much you know?" The boy seemed unsure for a moment and just stared at her for a moment as if trying to decide whether or not she was telling the truth or not, Kate wished she could walk right now because the poor boy looked like he needed extra comfort.

"Are we going to...eat her?" He finally asked, gaining a surprised look from both of them, had this woman really fed her child humans? Before either of them could speak the little boy continued talking, "Mommy always told me it was a waste for us to let food go t waste." As if to check and see if she was really dead he poked her arm and, when whe didn'tget up, walked over to the crudely made table that Kate had been tied to and snuggled up against her "I don't want to stay here anymore...will you take me with you?"

Both Jason and Kate's expression softened, while Jason wanted to travel alone he was also not a monster...this kid couldn't survive by himself and Kate couldn't even event walk, let alone take care of a small child and while it would be easy for him to let them go and just head off on his own, but he was determined to be better than that...which let him with only one option, an option he really didn't like. 

"Get some sleep, we'll leave at dawn for your camp...I'm going to finish scouting this place out, maybe find something for your leg." He'd carry her if he had to but if infected came then they would be royally screwed; as if they weren't. Part of him wanted to go now, but it was insanely dark and they had no source of light, it would be entirely too easy for the infected to ambush them, "Do you know how to use a bow?"

"No, no I don't." Kate said, gulping nervously; she had just come to the same conclusion he had; if she couldnt walk then he would need to carry her and they would be defenseless. "You should just leave me here..." The words lacked conviction but they both knew it was the easiest thing to do, it's what Jason should do.

"No." Came the definite answer to that little proposal, "I'm not going to leave you here, god knows what's lurking here and if that leg gets infected then you'll die, you need medical attention." This was a terrible idea and he knew it, but what else was he going to do? The lack of options bothered him, but this wasn't the time or the place for doubt. "What's your name kid?" He finally asked.

"Alan, Mommy named me after Daddy... I'm seven...I think, Mommy couldn't make up her mind after we came to live here." He said, "I've forget what Daddy looks like but I was always told I look like him." The last word was said in barely a whisper as if he were telling a scary story,what had he been told about his Father? "Are we going to eat Mommy?" He asked again, "I'm hungry..."

"No...we're not going to eat her; eating people is wrong." Jason said, maybe a little harshly but the idea still disturbed him...more than it probably should. "I'll go hunting for food if you're hungry, it looks like your Mother left quite a few crates unopened, she was probably afraid to leave the safety of this room..." Which was a sentimate that Jason shared, despite not really being afraid of the infected he was loathe to leave a safe room and go back out into the wasteland.

Kate, who was currently stroking Alan's hair, stared at her ex husband for a moment, "Be careful." she finally managed before looking away, what else was she supposed to say? Things seemed so awkward between them where it had once been the most natural thing in the world, if he came back to camp maybe they could fix things...but survival had to be their focus, their main goal. 

"I always am." Came Jason's reply before slinging his bow back over his shoulder "Take this." He instructed before handing her a knife "If any infected come you know what to do...and if I don't come back.." Kate silenced him with a look before nodding, she knew exactly what to do if Jason didn't come back but the little boy they were now in charge of didn't really need to know that, did he? "Good...that's good" Jason murmured before sliding off into the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always this is just a product of my imagination, i own no rights or anything and this is just an idea I thought was cool. If you enjoyed the story please tell me! If you didn't well, tell me that too! And I'm definitely open to suggestions.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first real attempt at an original story! I hope you all enjoy it, it hasn't been beta read because im between beta readers, so I apologize for any grammar or puncuation mistakes. Zombies are kind of a favorite of mine, and ive been toying with this idea forever! I hope you enjoy! Please leave a comment and let me know?


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